Acute coronary syndrome in the young Nepalese population with their angiographic characteristics

Background &amp; Objectives: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an emerging cardiac problem in the young population in Asia and Nepalese population is not an exception to this. Early ACS in young age imparts huge familial and social economic burden. Early identification and proper management strategy is still a challenging problem in developing countries like Nepal where there are limited coronary intervention centers. The study was conducted with objective to study the clinical spectrum, etiologies, coronary angiographic characteristics and their clinical outcomes.Materials &amp; Methods:  This is a cross-sectional study carried out in a tertiary hospital in central Nepal. Forty patients with acute coronary syndrome with age less than 40 years were enrolled in the study.Results: Majority of the patients were males with male: female=1.8:1. Twenty six (65%) patients were having ST segment elevation myocardial infarction followed by non-ST elevation myocardial infarction in nine (22.50%) patients and unstable angina in five (12.50%). patients. The most common risk factors were smoking, systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Majority were having single vessel disease. Twenty (50%) patients had undergone primary angioplasty followed by thrombolysis in seven patients and the rest were managed medically because of late presentation. In-hospital major adverse cardiac events and mortality were higher among STEMI than NSTEMI and unstable angina.Conclusion: Acute coronary syndrome in the young is increasing in the Nepalese population. This group of population should be well educated and made aware of the potential coronary risk factors and their modification. </jats:p

Impact of elevated left ventricular filling pressure on long-term outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement

BackgroundIncrease in left ventricular filling pressure (FP) and diastolic dysfunction are established consequences of progressive aortic stenosis (AS). However, the impact of elevated FP as detected by pretranscatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) echocardiogram on long-term outcomes after TAVR remains unclear.ObjectiveTo understand the impact of elevated FP in patients with severe AS who undergo TAVR.MethodsThis was a retrospective study of all patients who underwent TAVR between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2017. The presence of elevated FP was determined in accordance with the latest guidelines using the last available comprehensive echocardiogram prior to TAVR.ResultsOf 983 patients who were included in our study, 422 patients (43%) were found to have elevated FP and 561 patients (57%) had normal FP prior to TAVR. Patients with elevated FP had a mean age of 81.2±8.6 years and were more likely to be males (62%), diabetic (41% vs 35%, p=0.046), and have a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (Afib) (53% vs 39%, p&lt;0.001). The 5-year all-cause mortality after TAVR was significantly higher in patients with elevated FP when compared with patients with normal FP (32% vs 24%, p=0.006). The presence of elevated FP, history of Afib and prior PCI emerged as independent predictors of long-term mortality after TAVR.ConclusionElevated FP is associated with increased mortality in patients with severe AS undergoing TAVR. Assessment of FP should be incorporated into the risk assessment of AS patients to identify those who may benefit from early intervention.</jats:sec